Monday, March 14, 2011

my double-wide in bombay beach on the salton sea

well, not really. but i've long been fascinated with the place. located below palm springs, california the summer temperatures hover in the low triple digits and was once considered the riviera of california. the sea is actually a large lake that was once a dry bed that had flooded in 1905 with water from a swollen colorado river. with no natural drainage the lake became the salton sea. agricultural run-off and other chemicals so polluted the water that annual mass fish die-offs are common. thus the resorts that were humming in the 1950s and 1960s were abandoned and their signs and buildings rotting in neglect. a hardy core of people call bombay beach their home. the salton sea resonates with me because of its decrepitude. it is one of my goals to visit the area. there are places that hum for us. at least for me. when the shit sometimes gets thick i imagine my family pulling up stakes, purchasing an airstream trailer, and moving to our dotage in bombay beach. a man can dream, can't he? anyway, i'm not the only one fascinated by the salton sea. a few years ago a documentary was made about the area. john waters narrates. here is the trailer.

3 Comments:

At 12:15 AM, Blogger b said...

Road trip! Gotta Gotta Gatta Go!
B

 
At 10:05 AM, Anonymous Vaguely Quotable said...

The place definitely has a certain ramshackle appeal.

 
At 2:09 PM, Blogger Jim K. said...

I can see thousands of cool
photos there. If you sell some
surprise bestseller you can live
there.

 

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